GREENWOOD, Ind. — A Johnson County judge will decide in November if he will accept a plea deal and possibly sentence a man accused of killing a Whiteland teenager at a school bus stop in 2022.
Tyrique Radford El pleaded guilty to the murder of 16-year-old Temario Stokes Jr.
The judge has taken the plea agreement under advisement and will issue his ruling at Radford El's sentencing hearing Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m.
Prosecutors said Radford El shot and killed Stokes while he was waiting for a school bus in Greenwood shorty before 7 a.m. Aug. 25, 2022.
Police responded to a report of shots fired near Winterwood and Providence drives, which is near U.S. 31 and East Worthsville Road.
Stokes was a sophomore at Whiteland Community High School when he was killed. He had recently transferred to the school and only attended class for four days before the shooting.
His mother, Tiera Ervin Montgomery, said he was her "baby."
“I just cooked last night and made him a pot of greens, and I’m thinking my baby was going to return home, and he didn’t even get to make it to school,” Montgomery said in a 2022 interview with 13News.
Montgomery said she was at home when the shooting happened and that Stokes’ younger brother was also walking to the bus stop at the time.
“When I heard the shots, I ran outside and seen my son laying on the ground shot multiple times,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery described her son as kind, giving and someone who loved his family. He was also an older brother to his two siblings.
“My baby was a sweet person. My baby was an outgoing person. My baby would give the people the shirt off his back,” Montgomery said. “They took my heart away from me.”